Field School in Kamloops; Historic Yale; Ar~Haeology As Teaching Tool; Site Protection and the Law
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a 1HE ' Publication ofthe Archaeological Society ofBritish Columbia ISSN 0047-7222 Vol. 31 , No. 3 - 1999 SERIALS DIVISION RECEIVED JAN 2 8 2000 UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA McPHERSON LliiRARY In this issue: Field school in Kamloops; Historic Yale; Ar~haeology as teaching tool; Site protection and the law. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF &MIDDEN BRITISH COLUMBIA Published four times a year by the Dedicated to the protection of archaeological resources Archaeological Society of British Columbia and the spread of archaeological knowledge. Editorial Committee President Editor: Heather Myles (274-4294) Helmi Braches ( 462-8942) Field Editor: Richard Brolly (689-1678) [email protected] [email protected] News Editor: Heather Myles Membership Publications Editor: Robbin Chatan (215-1746) Leah Pageot (687-7754) [email protected] Ipageot @ao I.com Assistant Editor: Erin Strutt Annua.l membership includes a year's subscription to erins@intergate. be. ca Production & Subscriptions: The Midde11 and the ASBC newsletter, SocNotes. Fred Braches (462-8942) Membership Fees [email protected] Individual: $25 Family: $30 Seniors/Students: $18 SuBSCRIPTION is included with ASBC membership. Send cheque or money order payable to the ASBC to: Non-members: $14.50 per year ($17.00 USA and overseas), payable in Canadian funds to the ASBC. Remit to: ASBC Memberships Midden Subscriptions, ASBC P.O. Box 520, Dental! Station P.O. Box 520, Bentall Station Vancouver BC V6C 2N3 Vancouver BC V6C 2N3 ASBC on Internet SuBMISSIONS: We welcome contributions on subjects germane http://home.istar.ca/- glenchanlasbc/asbc.shtml to BC archaeology. Guidelines are available on request. Sub missions and exchange publications should be directed to the appropriate editor at the ASBC address. Affiliated Chapters Copyright Nanaimo Contact: Pat [email protected] Contents of The Midde11 are copyrighted by the ASBC. President: Lorrie Hayden (250) 754-6862 It is unlawful to reproduce all or any part, by any means what Monthly lectures at Malaspina College, 900 Fifth Street, soever, without the Society's permission, w_hich is usually gladly Nanaimo, BC given. Contributors this issue Victoria Contact: Tom Bown (250-385-2708) Internet: http://www.museumsassn.bc.ca/- bcmalmuseurns/asbc Brian Apland, Catherine Carlson, Robbin Chatan, Robin Meetings on the third Thursday of the month at 7:30pm at the Hooper, Andrew Mason, and Peter Ord. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria. The British Columbia Heritage Trust has provided ASBC MEETINGS in Vancouver featuring financial assistance to this project to support conservation illustrated lectures are usually held on the of our heritage resources, gain further knowledge and second Wednesday of each month (except July increase public understanding of the complete history of and August) at 8:00P.M. in the Auditorium of British Columbia. the Vancouver Museum at 1100 Chestnut Street. New members and visitors are welcome. Admission is free. Next meeting: Wednesday 12 January 2000 a THE IDDEN A CHANGING EDITORIAL TEAM Table of A chapter has come to a close on The Midden's editorial Contents team. After serving five years on the editorial staff of The Midden, publications editor and former co-chief editor Archaeological Field School at 2 Robbin Chatan is stepping down. Thompson's River Post by Catherine Carlson On behalf of The Midden 's editorial team, I would like to Beneath St. John the Devine, 6 thank Robbin for his years of dedication, effort, hard work, Yale, BC and tremendous commitment to the various editorial roles by Robin Hooper he held with The Midden. His contributions to the produc tion and publication of this quarterly will be greatly missed. Archaeology as Teaching Tool by Peter Ord 8 We wish him well in all his future endeavors. News Items 10 In his place we would like to welcome Monica Karpiak who has enthusiastically agreed to fill the position of publi Letter to the Editor 11 cations editor. Monica is a graduate student in the Depart Managing Archaeology 12 ment of Archaeology at Simon Fraser University and is also Review by Andrew Mason employed at Golder Associates Ltd. Searching for that Elusive. Ref- 13 Ifyo u are interested in writing a book review for The Midden, erence Review by Robbin Chatan or would like to recommend a book for review, you can contact Monica Karpiak at (604) 294-3394. Debitage & FYI 14 Heather Myles, editor Permits 15 Conferences outside back cover Cover Page Lucky find while sifting at Xa:ytem Interpretive Centre. Photo by Peter Ord. See Peter Ord's article "Archaeology as Teaching Tool," beginning on page 8. Name ofthe student not availabe at press time. The Midden 31/3 - - -- - - -------- - --- ------ - - THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF THE CARIBOO ARCHAEOLOGY FIELD SCHOOL AT THOMPSON'S· RIVER POST, KAMLOOPS, BC by Catherine Carlson This year's biennial UCC archaeology undisturbed parkland that has miracu My initial goals for field research field school was the fourth in a series of lously escaped development. It is fre focussed on (I) determining whether or excavations run in 1993, 1995, 1997, and quently used by cyclists and day hikers, not the trading post had formerly been 1999 at the site of the oldest year-round particularly band members on their way located in the area of Indian Point, or site fur trade post in Kamloops (dating 1821- to crossing the river to downtown EeRc 22; (2) ifthere was evidence of early 1842). With the permission and coopera Kamloops. historic occupation by fur traders, then tion of the Kamloops Indian Band (field Prior to the 1997 excavations, it was not was there an adjacent Indian village of the work was conducted under the KIB conclusively known whether or not the same time period; and (3) if either of the archaeological permit system and not un 1821 trading post had in fact actually ever above were found, then what did the ma der a provincial permit), research has been located here. Oral histories of terial culture indicate about the lifeways, focussed on locating, delineating, and ex Kamloops band members suggested that and cultural and economic interactions ploring the early contact period Indian the old post lay in the general vicinity of that occurred between European and Na village associated with the first Hudson's the historic church, but its exact wherea tive peoples in this initial period of con Bay Company post in Kamloops. Struc bouts was unknown (Manny Jules, pers. tact? From the earliest formulation of the tural evidences of both the European trad comm. 1993). Meagre HBC historical research, the focus has been on recover ing post (a rectangular wood building), records and maps also indicated that the ing evidence of aboriginal occupation and the associated Native village ( circu first trading post location was somewhere during the fur trade to study the origins of lar pithouses and cache pits) have been near the northeast confluence of the two colonialism in this region, and to investi discovered through field school survey rivers. It was also known that following gate Indian people's first responses to and testing. In addition to excavation, the abandonment of this post in 1842, an European intrusion. mapping ofthe site's surficial features has other HBC post was constructed on the For the above reasons, the initial 1993 been an important aspect of the work. west bank of the North Thompson River, field school was engaged in testing two The site lies between 500-750 meters which was then moved again in the 1860s circular depressions at the southern extent north of the northeast confluence of the to the south side ofthe South Thompson of the site (Figure 2; Area I). Prior to test North and South Thompson rivers on the River (Favrholdt I 987). ing, it was not known if the area's Kamloops Indian Reserve, along the east The undeveloped land south of the pithouses were pre-contact or historic in bank of the North Thompson River (Fig church cemetery at least indicated to me age. On an idea that small cultural depres ure I). Locally the area is referred to as in 1993 that there was a high potential for sions may represent historic pithouses, I "Indian Point." When I first started work finding intact archaeological features as focussed the testing on two of the site's ing there in 1993, the landscape was a field sociated with the fur trade era, if they ex smallest pithouse depressions (6 m and 5 of tall bunch grass bordered by isted at all in this vicinity. An archaeo m diameters). Substantial amounts of flu cottonwood trees along the riverbank to logical survey in 1979 by Michael vial and aeolian sand and silt had in-filled the west, the CN rail line and Mount Paul Rousseau and Manny Jules had recorded these circular features such that almost a Industrial Park to the east, and the the presence of eight presumed prehistoric meter of deposit had to be excavated be Kamloops Indian Band cemetery and his pithouse depressions and a cache pit (site fore roof and house floor zones were en toric St. Joseph's church to the north. To EeRc 22). These researchers also specu countered. Throughout the fill deposits, the south of the site lies a treed floodplain lated on the survey form that a rectangu some historic glass and metal objects were and slough of the South Thompson River. lar depression at the northern end of the recovered. However, once into the roof The property, while situated at the geo site near the cemetery and riverbank may and floor zones, historic materials in graphical centre of the booming modem represent the former place of the old trad creased in abundance, including trade city of Kamloops, is nevertheless a quiet ing post. beads, clay pipe fragments, a piece of 2 The Midden 31/3 pounded copper, musket shot, and metal In addition, we undertook transect shovel from the Lakota Nation, ended up with a basins.